Getting around at airports can get really complicated for blind and unaccompanied travelers: today engineers at Carnegie Mellon University have partnered with Pittsburgh International Airport to develop a system that helps blind people move from one point of the facility to another.
A "smart" trolley equipped with a video camera and sensors is able to perceive the surrounding environment, people and objects that could represent possible obstacles. It calculates the best walking routes and evaluates possible collisions, reporting them to the user and anyone who comes into contact with him.
“People once paid more attention and caution if they passed a blind person,” says Chieko Asakawa, (the name in Italian sounds like a mocking twist of fate) professor at Carnegie Mellon and blind since the age of 14, who took part in the project.
“Today conditions have changed, the attention rate has significantly decreased and people distracted by smartphones or other visual stimuli can easily bump into us”.
The guide trolley is combined with a special app to find waiting rooms, restaurants and other points in the airport: once the destination has been chosen, the trusty suitcase will take care of accompanying the user safely.
